List of songs recorded by Katy Perry

A female holding a microphone singing while facing to the left
Katy Perry performing in 2017

American singer Katy Perry has recorded songs for six studio albums. After singing at church during her childhood, she decided to pursue a career in music in her teenage years.[1] She signed a record deal with Red Hill Records, and released a gospel album called Katy Hudson in 2001.[1] She wrote its songs "Last Call", "My Own Monster", "Spit", and "When There's Nothing Left" by herself while co-writing the remaining six with Mark Dickson, Scott Faircloff, Tommy Collier, and Brian White.[2] The album was unsuccessful and it failed to garner any attention. Red Hill Records shut down later that year.[1] Following two unsuccessful contracts with Island Def Jam Records and Columbia Records, whereby Perry was dropped by both them before she could finish an album, she ultimately secured a deal with Capitol Records in 2007, a division of record label Virgin.[1][3]

Her second studio album, One of the Boys, was released in June 2008.[4] The pop-rock album was composed over a period of five years.[5][6] The lead single, "I Kissed a Girl", was co-written by Perry with Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Cathy Dennis, and alludes to bisexuality.[5] Perry was the sole writer of "Thinking of You", "Mannequin", and the album's title track.[7] The songs "Mannequin" and "Lost" have themes of determination and self-belief.[8] The track "Ur So Gay" opens with the lyrics "I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf," which BBC critic Lizzie Ennever believed was Perry's response to people who may have "wronged her in the past".[8] During the recording process of the album, Perry had written the songs "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Long Shot" with Kara DioGuardi and Greg Wells, but decided not to include them on the final track list. They were later recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson for her album All I Ever Wanted (2009).[6] In 2009, she released a live album titled MTV Unplugged, which featured acoustic performances of five tracks from One of the Boys along with two new recordings, "Brick by Brick" and "Hackensack".[9]

Perry released her third studio album, Teenage Dream, in August 2010.[10] She reunited with Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Greg Wells for most of the songs, but also worked with some new writers and producers for the project.[11] For the track "Firework", Perry collaborated with Sandy Vee, Ester Dean and the Norwegian production duo Stargate, and with Tricky Stewart on the songs "Who Am I Living For?" and "Circle the Drain".[11] Lyrically, "Who Am I Living For?" recalls Perry's Christian roots and retells the biblical story of Esther, the Jewish Queen of Persia who discovered and foiled Haman's plan to massacre the Jewish community.[12][13] "Circle the Drain" alludes to a previous boyfriend's drug addiction, speculated to be about Travie McCoy, and the effects it had on them as a couple, with lyrics which include "You fall asleep during foreplay/ 'Cause the pills you take are more your forte."[14][15] Another Stargate produced track called "Peacock" makes use of double entendres whereby Perry propositions her lover with showing her his penis, singing "I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock."[15][16][17]

The singer re-released the album in March 2012 with the title Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection.[18] New material included alternate versions of some of the standard songs, including an acoustic version of "The One That Got Away".[19] Perry recorded three new songs for the re-issue, including "Dressin' Up", which lyrically documents dressing up for one's lover, and features a request by Perry for a "dirty doggie" to "pet her kitty".[20][21] Her fourth studio album, Prism, was released in October 2013.[22] It was noted for having a noticeably darker and moodier tone than her previous releases.[23] "Dark Horse" is a trap and hip hop song[24] about witchcraft and black magic.[25] The song "Birthday" was Perry's attempt at writing a song which Mariah Carey would have included in her eponymous debut album.[26] Aside from her regular collaborators, Perry co-wrote the track "Double Rainbow" with Sia and Greg Kurstin, while Emeli Sandé contributed lyrics to "It Takes Two".[27] Her fifth album, Witness, was released in June 2017. Its tracks include "Bigger than Me", "Bon Appétit", "Chained to the Rhythm", and "Swish Swish".[28]

In August 2020, Perry released her sixth studio album Smile with earlier released songs "Never Really Over" and "Harleys in Hawaii". It spawned the singles "Daisies" and "Smile" and a promotional single titled "What Makes a Woman".[29]

  1. ^ a b c d "Katy Perry – Biography". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference KatyHudsonNotes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Correction to the interview with Chris Anokute". HitQuarters. January 21, 2011. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  4. ^ "iTunes – Music – One of the Boys by Katy Perry". iTunes Store. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Merritt, Stephanie (September 14, 2008). "Pop review: Katy Perry, One of the Boys". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Montgomery, Jason (August 16, 2009). "Katy Perry Explains Her Link To Kelly Clarkson's New Album". MTV News. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference OneoftheBoysNotes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Ennever, Lizzie. "BBC – Music – Review of Katy Perry – One of the Boys". BBC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  9. ^ MTV Unplugged (Compact Disc). Katy Perry. Capitol Records. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "iTunes – Music – Teenage Dream by Katy Perry". iTunes Store. August 24, 2010. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference TeenageDreamNotes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Sheffield, Rob (August 23, 2010). "Teenage Dream by Katy Perry". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  13. ^ Garcia, Melissa (August 29, 2010). "Music In Review: Katy Perry - Teenage Dream". OC Reloaded. OC Reloaded. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  14. ^ Montgomery, James (October 1, 2010). "Travie McCoy Finally Addresses Katy Perry's 'Circle The Drain'". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Wood, Mikael. "Katy Perry, 'Teenage Dream' (Capitol)". Spin. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  16. ^ Richards, Chris (August 24, 2010). "Album review of 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  17. ^ Paskin, Willa (August 3, 2010). "Katy Perry's 'Peacock' and the Dying Art of the Double Entendre". New York. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  18. ^ "iTunes – Music – Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection by Katy Perry". iTunes Store. March 23, 2012. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference TeenageDreamCompleteConfectionNotes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Rubenstein, Jenna Hally (March 30, 2012). "Watch Katy Perry's 'Dressin' Up' Lyric Video!". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  21. ^ Maerz, Melissa (March 23, 2012). "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  22. ^ "iTunes – Music –Prism by Katy Perry". iTunes Store. October 23, 2013. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  23. ^ Dolan, Jon (October 17, 2013). "Katy Perry 'Prism' Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  24. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (September 6, 2013). "Katy Perry's 'Prism' Album Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  25. ^ Sieczkowski, Cavan (February 4, 2016). "Christian Singers Sue Katy Perry Over 'Dark Horse'". The Huffington Post. Arianna Huffington. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  26. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (September 6, 2013). "Katy Perry's 'Prism' Album Preview: 10 Things You Need To Know". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference PrismNotes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Smith, Da'Shan (May 16, 2017). "Everything We Know About Katy Perry's 'Witness' Album (So Far)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  29. ^ Aniftos, Rania (August 28, 2020). "Katy Perry's 'Smile' Is Here: Stream It Now". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.

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